With elections fast approaching let us be grateful to the GOP and its allies, some of them Democrats, for their generosity and munificence bestowed upon us. Here is a short and necessarily incomplete list of reasons emphasizing why we should thankful to our commander in chief and his friends for all the good things they have done for us.
On the ethics and values front, compassionate conservatism, sanctimoniousness, cronyism, opportunism, extremism, hypocrisy, doublespeak, logical contortions, legalistic fictions, greed, venality, corruption, hubris, DeLay Inc., torture advocacy, barbarism, gulags, arrogance, bullying, stupidity, dishonesty, fraudulence, deception, stonewalling, fecklessness, insularity, indifference to the suffering of others, praying on the young, the poor and the old, domestic spying, haughtiness, false pretenses, excuses, denials, lies, pedury, shamelessness, the smirk.
On the war front, ignored 9/11 warnings, imperium delirium, naive optimism, "Operation Iraqi Freedom," jingoism, illegal wars, democracy-at-gunpoint, "shock and awe," regime change, carnage, preemptive strikes, propaganda, the "war president," imbedded "journalism," Ms. Run-Amok, chicken-hawk warriors, "stuff happens" inanities, policy-driven intelligence, yellow-cake tall tales, Colin's "mobile labs," Condi's "mushroom clouds," war-as-a-photo-op, "Mission Accomplished" nonsense, bragadoccio, "stay-the-course" platitudes, fictitious WMDS, cowboyism, boondoggles, "bring-it-on" bravado, bluff and bluster, smoke-and-mirrors solutions, daily bombings, Afghan opium bumper crops, warlords, war crimes, collateral damage, uncounted Iraqi dead, civil war, falsified reporting, incompetence, increase in terrorism, draft-dodger war advocates, war profiteering, the smirk.
On the political front, the restoration of dignity to the Oval office, stolen elections, cabals, neocons, manufactured intelligence, changing explanations, secretiveness, conspiracies, political opportunism, phony patriotism, the "nuclear option," illegal fundraising, De Lay and Abramoff, money laundering, graft, illegal redistricting, disenfranchisement of minority voters, pay-to-play politics, the "Patriot Act," neocolonialism, dodging of issues, subterfuge, misrepresentation of facts, distortions, namby-pamby excuses, hyperbole, change-the-subject stunts, posturing, dissembling, obfuscation, dodging of issues, character assassination, political vendettas, smear campaigns, Scooter and Shooter and Rover, cronyism, cover-ups, sloganeering, propaganda disguised as news, fear-mongering, war-mongering, manipulation, scheming, false statements, whitewashing, fabrications, publicity stunts, the smirk.
On the science front, cutbacks in scientific research, 300 billion for "star wars," political vetting of scientific reports, systematic undermining of science teaching, religion in schools, AIDS research cutbacks, prescription drugs price-gouging, political attacks on science, falsification of scientific reports, misuse of scientific findings, suppression of scientific findings, opposition to stem cell research, rape of the environment, suspension of the endangered species act, unchecked toxic emissions, climate change, melting polar caps, the smirk.
On the educational front, "no child left behind," war on science, religion in the schools, cutbacks in education funding, cutbacks in student loans, military recruitment in high schools, promotion of ignorance, intelligent design, the smirk.
On the constitutional and civil rights fronts, partisan judicial appointments, erosion of civil liberties, dismantling of affirmative action, attacks on reproductive rights, abandonment of the Geneva Conventions, bigotry against homosexuals, denial of due process, illegal detentions, secret prisons, presumption of guilt, justifications for torture, renditions, presumption of guilt, human rights violations, illegal spying on Americans, the smirk.
On the economic front, corporate fraud, bribery, fiscal irresponsibility, Enron, inflation, conflicts of interest, price gouging, war profiteering, outsourcing, no-bid contracts, record deficits, runaway war budgets, tax breaks for the ultra rich, "starving-the-beast," war on the poor, the young and the old, astronomical executive compensation, union busting, plutocracy, starvation minimum wage, no benefits, the smirk.
Some may dismiss my gratitude as misplaced. On the other hand, I would like to remind you that these are the same people who hate our great president and act as ungrateful "Bush-bashers." The alternative hypothesis that this may be justifiable outrage on the part of those people to this government's moral and ethical bankruptcy and manifest incompetence is liberal drivel.
A concerned citizen.
Read "Penguins in Bondage": http://happystiletto.blogspot.com/
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com